This show is all around great, but the opening HALF STEP > FRANKLIN'S is EPIC! Definitely my favorite post 1977 versions of both tunes. The HALF STEP starts with sound problems (No vocals briefly) but then gets going and hits one of those mighty crescendos before seguing into the longest FRANKLIN'S ever at nearly 19 minutes. It has one peak after another with the one after If you get confused, listen to the music play" absolutely incendiary. The rest of the show is excellent with a great, extended jam after SAINT OF CIRCUMSTANCE and a beautiful STELLA BLUE.

one of the better post 77 mississippi'sGarcia pulls off the vocals well which was increasingly problematic getting the metering, breaths, phrasing and LYrics correct The Frankin's from 79 wre mostly GOOD/GREAT/AWESOME. a slower tempo than the 81-84 versions with TASTY licks as opposed to the fran tic, frenetic versions of 81-84 which were frequently good but different Franklins was played VERY frequently in late 79 if not every other night or 2 nights in a row(cape cod 10/79) but they were almost always outstanding Regarding Ms zippi.Not a 'killer' but the final guitar break is GOOD plus From its inception in late 72 mzippi was a fun song. The best pre-77 version possibly being the spectrum version from 9/72 released asa dicks pick. Donna wails on EVERY gran-di-o and Jerrys play is good. Most of the versions thru 74 were in the 7=8 minute range with limited Jerry guitar 'breaks.' When the song was reintroduced at the Orpheum run in 7/76 it still had the shorter arangement. In the spring of 77 was when it turned into a MONSTER with multiple guitar breaks, great vocal phrasing etcInstead of the 7 minute arrangement the song would now time out at 10 to 12 minutes plus with the increased, longer guitar breaks. Nearly every version if not EVERY ONE(i'd have to review them all) from spring 77 were awesome.This same expansion of arrangement, more, longer guitar breaks also applies to sugaree. Prior to spring 77 the arangements timed out at 7,8 minutes then spring 77 more,longer guitar breaks that increased the length of the tune to 15-17 minutes plus. Back to mississippi after the winterland shows in 6/77(another great mississippi) the next show was Englishtown with another MONSTER version (over 13 minutes) plus Keith was still in good form at Englishtown. Tho he stopped touring with a 'grand' piano his tibre,tone and play was still good and he still would occasionally use the moog for 'organ' sounds on Estimated but as the tour rolled on he stuck to the piano giving up on the moog for even estimated. In the spring of 77 he used the moog on estimated, passenger, lazylightning, Loser(cornell 77) Brokedown(st paul 77) even for a portion of the awesome Boston Garden Mississippi from 5/77.After the englishtown show which was almost an extension of spring 77 as far as quality of play the Mississippi's were more inconsistent never reaching the heights of spring 77 though there are good ones such as the one from this show. When mississpi fell out of rotation after 82(there were 4 or 5 in 82 id have to look it up) and then returned at Nassu in spring 85 the arrangment returned to shorter 7 minute versions never reaching the heights of 77 or the good ones from 79. I do recall there is one mississppi from the west coast post 85 that was pretty good but again doesnt compare to 77 or even 79 or 81.

This is an excellent show overall with some truly superior stuff too. The recording is excellent quality, most of the time you can hear everybody distinctly. Brent is too high in the mix for my taste in the latter part of the show. The Jam out of St. of Circumstance definitely has its moments, but too much Brent. Still, can't think of a better version.

The Half-Step and Franklin's both have the laid-back, unhurried jamming that all too few versions do. Fidelity glitch at first of Half-Step, but it recovers in time for the coolest parts. Both versions rate very high on my all-time list.

In fact, I'm wondering what they hell I am doing writing this, I'm going to go listen again.

The first AUD patch in Half-Step is terrible! I didn't even know they started playing until the chorus. At least the SBD kicks in towards the end. Rest of the show is stellar. Almost blew the Lazy Lightnin' though...love these guys (and miss the girl, damnit).

At the 7 minute mark of Not Fade Away, major Stephen tease. Don't think this has ever been noted, oddly enough. I was at the show and I swear I thought they were going to go for it! Very underrated show all around, short but intense. Bummed at a Lost Sailor>Saint leading into drums? Think again, the jam out of Saint is spectacular! Jerry is all over this show, he was on fire. Check it out my friends! Also, defintely check out one of the nice audience recordings of this show. Nothing against soundboards, but the audience recording of this show is much better at capturing the energy. Probably the best Casey Jones I was lucky enough to see!

Its always a treat to hear either Lazy/Supplication or Sailor/Saint in one show, so to have both in this one seemed to add quite a bit of frantic drive. Really enjoyed it and the Casey closer was icing on the cake.

This too was my 1st show. Go To Heaven was just released. Remember listening to Mickey doing a live interview on WLIR with Ray White about the use of the single membrane drums that needed to be heated over fire before use. Hearing 1/2 Step opener and Casey Jones closer was particularly interesting and exciting for me because the Casey Jones on SYF was what got me grooving on the boys in the first place and a tape from MSG in Jan 8,1979 that opened with one of the most amazing and rocking 1/2 Step endings ever. Addictions start slowly!!

This was one of my first shows. I had seen them in '78, but missed the Nassau show('1/79) where they did Dark Star & St. Stephen. After that I made sure I saw as many as shows possible, eventhough I was only in 9th grade. My older brother would bring me to 5-6 shows a tour until I could drive.

This show is a lot better than I realized at the time, however, I knew that they did not play Casey Jones a lot at the time. I think it took another number of years until I saw it again.

The God Damn Grateful Dead!

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love it, love it......love it
jerrys solo at the end of NFA is one of my favorite moments in musical history.

Not a perfect recording but nonetheless enjoyable. This is a rocking and spirited performance. Every song is an adventure. Great, jammed-out versions of Miracle, Lazy>Supp, Saint. Whole second set is ice.

This is a stellar show from start to finish. The 1/2 step gets kicking once the sound gets squared away. T. Jed and L->S are tremendous.
The communication of the band plus the ripping start to the 2nd set are so fun. The jam out of Circumstance into drums is another highlight. Plus Casey!

The Lazy/ supplication is worth it alone.

not a bad 1979 show...some highlights include a listenable first set, Supplication, the St. of Circumstance>Jam and the Casey Jones encore...some moments of real sloppitude (like a mistimed and disjointed Stella Blue)...the recording quality is above average at it's best...there are at least 10/ 15 better '79 shows out there...it's a 3 1/2, but I can't give it a 4

This whole tour was absolutely awesome, especailly the 2 Cape Cod shows and these three Nassau shows. To me this is one of the best 2nd sets I ever saw. the first set is solid, with a nice half step > Franklins. I remember the sound being down for the first verse of Half step, we could only hear the stage monitors. , and you can hear the crowd roar when the house system finally gets turned on. Set 2 just rocks, with a great miracle> bertha, and the Jam out of Saint of Circumstamnce is just 13 minutes of pure GD Jamming with Brent and Jerry just going off. The Casey Jones encore was the icing on the cake. Get this show, it is well worth it!

Why is it in here as a soundboard?

thats the way to start Casey Jones Jerry!

I have downloaded either through GDLive or this great site, parts or all of 115 concerts. I have my own rating system. I downloaded this concert on GDLive probably 2 years ago. Then I listened to it months after that. On 12-06-03 my notes state "Awesome." "Awesome" is my highest category. It is above Great which is higher than Almost Great which is higher than Very Good Plus Plus...." Only 2 CD's of my 128 total are called awesome. The other is from England 1972 which I have purchased. It is a compilation of a couple of days in England, from that great run of Europe 72 so there is not a date I can send you to on that one. Just go to any spring 1972 and you will be happy.

On a recent mini vacation to the casinos in Reno I listened to this 11/02/79 again. Of course I was not giving it my full attention with
everything going on in the casino I was at. Then it hit me, I stopped, and thought, this truly is awesome. Rating is maintained. Nothing more to be said except give it a try and see if our taste in great GD music meet.

My CD is as follows: (1) Lazy L; (2)Supplication; (3) Deal; (4) Miracle; (5)Bertha; (6) Lost Sailor; (7) Saint of C; (8) Jam; (9) Space; (10) Not Fade Away; (10) Sugar Magnolia.

CM, this was also my first show, and due to an excess of youthful indiscretion (I was 16 at the time) most of the joys of this show were lost to me over the 25 years that have since passed. I always wanted to get a copy of my first show, and now I know why; it's a gem from start to finish. Yes, 1/2-Step is a bit slow out of the gate, but things pick up from there. The first set highlight for me is Lazy Lightning/Supplication. Just one listen to Phil's manic driving bass line and you'll get it. I listened to the entire show on headphones today and it's fun to listen to the boys' on-stage chatter before the start of the second set, especially Bobby calling out the setlist. He refers to Lost/Saint only as "My two new tunes" several times. Once the second set kicks in, your off for quite a ride. Bertha rocks, and even more so when they kick in the bombs, as they did so well in that era. Miracle is solid, with Jerry really in fine form. And Lost/Saint is great, with some impromptu lyrics. The Drumspace is cool, lots of wierdness and fun. NFA gets going to a real driving cadence and segues into a super-sweet Stella; Jerry sings his guts out and you can really feel it. They close the set with a rocking Sugar Mag, high energy all around. I like Bob's comment just before Casey Jones: "This is only a test" (perhaps a reference to the fact that it was last played 38 shows previously, and was Brent's first?), and again, Jerry sings for all it's worth. All around a great way to start my lifelong love affair with the finest band in the land, the Grateful Dead!!! This one really is worth it; enjoy all, and thanks so much to the good folks who are bringing all this joy back into our world. -JRH

For me, the 1/2 Step->Franklin's opener doesn't really pick up until the very end of Franklin's. The second set is where it's at. The Bertha is just unbelievable.

I could ramble at length about the many highlights in this show and how excellent it sounds, but you really should just get the show yourself.

cm: Considering this was your first show, the awesome 1/2 Step>Franklin's opener must have been enough alone to hook you for life! What a first show.

There were no reels run on this tour. This originates from a cassette master.

This was my 1st show :)
cm